


Birenne of Burnt Stones

by Tragedie_Sinclair



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-09 10:38:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18915250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tragedie_Sinclair/pseuds/Tragedie_Sinclair
Summary: In the days following the coronation of King Bran the Broken, Brienne of Tarth mourns her unrequited love and finds solace in an unexpected place.For Daisy





	Birenne of Burnt Stones

The first few nights in King’s Landing were fitful and filled with terror. The images she saw when she closed her eyes were the same as the nightmares that befell her when sleep finally ceased to elude her.  So many fallen friends to mourn, so many holes left in her heart. In the loneliness of the night the pain seemed to amplify. She could still hear screams from the Battle of Winterfell coming from the hall, bouncing off the stone walls until they reverberated into her chamber, but the sound of her own sobbing as Jaime Lannister rode away was loudest of all.

She had cried enough over him. That river had run dry. This did nothing to relieve her suffering, but rather deepened it in such a way that she could wear it like a funeral veil. There was a comfort in mourning him, in clinging to the sadness she felt and creating innumerable fantasies of what could have been, from mundane to extravagant and fantastic one and all. In many ways, these dreams were more real to her than her new life serving King Brandon the Broken. They were the only places where she could visit him. The only place she wanted to be.

Unable to lie still in her chamber any longer, Brienne pulled her long black robe over her shoulders and tiptoed on bear feet to the remnants of the White Sword Tower. She took a seat at the table and opened the White Book of King’s Guards to Jaime’s page. Again and again she read the words, slowing over the passage he had written himself and admiring every imperfect line. Her fingers caressed the page and she knew it was as close to him as she would ever be again.

“ _Brienne…_ ”

Someone whispered her name, but there was not a soul to be seen. Brienne stood from her chair and checked the room, but she was alone. Outside the door there was no one.

“Pod? Is that you? What are you doing out of bed at this hour?”

“ _Brienne…_ ”

It came from further down the hall. The stones were cold beneath her feet as she walked towards the voice, listening intently for the call to repeat. The hall came to an end, with a corridor extending to each side. She stopped, unsure which way to go. Silence. This was silly. Her mind was playing tricks on her again. It had been too long since she got any meaningful rest. It was time to go back to bed.

“ _Brienne…_ ”

The whisper came from the right. She looked down the long hall and saw the silhouette of a man rounding the far corner.

“Stop!”

The man did not obey. Her walked turned into a run but the shadowy figure had already covered too much distance for her to catch him as she turned the same corner. Before her was a narrow set of stairs behind a small archway. Taking the torch on the wall in her hand she hurried after her target. The stairs continued on and on, and as she went the hall grew narrower and shorter until she had to crouch to keep from bashing her head. Eventually she came to a sort of cellar piled with broken bricks and rubble. A dragon skull larger than could have belonged to any of Daenerys’s dragons stood smashed to pieces but not entirely caved in nearby. For a moment she was transfixed by the sight of it, grateful that the Dragon Queen’s children did not get so large before their arrival in Westeros. It never occurred to her that the destruction could have been far worse until she laid eyes on that thing.

“Brienne.”

She knew that voice. A smile beamed across her face as she spun around and indeed, she knew who the speaker was. Jaime Lannister stood before her, just as rugged and handsome as she remembered him. She could not help but feel that there was too much distance between them. Without hesitation she rushed to shorten that distance and wrap him in her arms again, but when she enclosed her embrace there was nothing to hold on to. She passed through him as easily as she passed through a ray of sunlight shining through a window.

With mournful eyes Jaime shook his head and took a step back from Brienne. Then he offered out his golden hand for her to take. She hesitated, certain her hand would pass through his once again. He would not rescind the offer, and in time she held out her own hand, allowing it to hover above his for a moment before setting it down. To her surprise, she could feel the coolness of the metal against her skin, and then the warmth of his other hand upon her cheek.

From the heavens music began to play, soft and gentle notes strung together in a simple melody. His hand moved from her cheek to the small of her back as he pulled her close. They began to sway to the ethereal music. Jaime took a step forward, easing her hand back to lead her into the dance. She followed, her uncoordinated steps soon becoming graceful as Jaime guided her back and forth. Once her footing was sure he added some sidesteps and the lady knight caught on quickly.

All night long they danced as the music grew louder and the ruins around them melted away to reveal more beautiful places. He spun her around in warm meadows of grass and soft sandy beaches of faraway lands. In these places there were no memories of horror and death and no goodbyes to be said. As long as the music played the screams in her memories could not be heard and the ghastly images went unseen. The largest hole in her heart was filled.

They danced until Brienne could hold up her head no longer. She rested it on Jaime’s shoulder and closed her eyes. Her body began to go limp against his. As the music began to fade he laid her down gently upon the floor, tucking her arm gently under her head. One last time she opened her eyes, and she graced him a beautiful little smile. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers as the final note of the song rang out from high above and faraway. Sleep overtook her before he pulled back.

The next morning the sound of her name being shouted awoke her from a deep, dreamless slumber. Another familiar voice, though one that belonged to someone still living. Podrick stumbled down the stairs looking frantic, but the sight of her sitting on the dusty floor unharmed brought him instant relief. He ran to her side and tried to help her up, but she waved away his hand and stood on her own.

“What are you doing here, Ser? Where you down here all night?”

Brienne did not answer. Pod took her by the arm and began leading her back towards the stairs. He said something about getting her cleaned up before breakfast but she was not listening. Tears welled up in her big blue eyes. She looked back one last time and saw Jaime watching her leave. He nodded for her to go with Pod, to do her duty by her king and the realm. She knew she had little choice, but she looked back at him with a silent and solemn vow to return to again.

She did return. Many times, each time as wonderful as the first. They never spoke, but as they danced they lived out each of Brienne’s fantasies of what could have been. One night she even danced with Renly Baratheon again, as she had when she was a girl. It was a lovely night, but there was only to be one. It was always Jaime she sought when she descended those stairs. He was not hers. He came into this world with Cersei and he left this world with her, but for those nights Brienne spent with him it was as if they were the only two people in the world. For those nights he loved her, and only her. They lived between the steps of their dance a thousand lifetimes.

And she never wanted to leave.     


End file.
